Next, Allen's crew stayed on Demonic Beast Island for three days. While Nami and Robin rested and recovered, the rest of the crew entered the rainforest to hunt.
Sanji and the others led their respective divisions, setting up bait traps at target locations to attract prey before firing a signal to summon Allen.
Near a lake, Sanji and Killer's teams lay in ambush in the tree canopy and the bushes below, respectively, their eyes nervously fixed on the lake's surface.
At this moment, six or seven human-sized pterosaurs sprinted across the lake in a flock, dragging long ripples behind them.
Their bodies were covered in vibrant blue-to-yellow gradient feathers, and they had slender, sharp beaks. Their webbed feet continuously treaded water at extreme speeds as they dashed toward the corpse of a giant dinosaur lying at the edge of the lake.
Just as they were about to come ashore, one of the Lightning Dragon Birds suddenly sensed something amiss. It blinked its eyes, looked up at the tree canopy, and let out a cry.
"Gahhh!!"
At its call, the other Lightning Dragon Birds all turned to look, their eyes revealing ferocity as they spread their feathered wings.
Seeing this, Sanji, hiding in the canopy, changed his expression. He crouched and quickly leaped out.
"Our position is exposed! Fire the signal flare!"
"Yes! Boss Sanji!"
The crew members hurriedly shouted in response, pulling out signal flares and firing them into the sky as they leaped backward.
At the same time, Killer also darted out from the bushes below with a *swish*!
"They're attacking! Covering fire!"
Killer shouted loudly. The skin on his body rapidly transformed into a green and purple exoskeleton, his pupils turned into spotted red compound eyes, and his arms morphed into mantis scythes covered in sharp barbs.
Following his order, the crew members in the rear rustled out of the bushes, mounting machine guns and firing wildly at the lake!
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The dense hail of bullets wove into a net of firepower, striking the lake's surface and kicking up sprays of water.
However.
Those Lightning Dragon Birds moved with extreme agility. Their webbed feet slapped the water's surface, granting them incredible mobility as they rapidly wove through the line of fire, moving so fast they left afterimages.
"It's no use! We can't hit them at all."
"I can barely even see them!"
"Don't underestimate them! They're the strongest 'Fatality-level' beasts on the island."
"Everyone below the rank of squad leader, fall back!"
Amidst the panicked crowd, Sanji shouted loudly, then took the lead and charged straight at the Lightning Dragon Birds, with the mantis-transformed Killer following closely behind.
Right then.
The two leading Lightning Dragon Birds suddenly spread their wings, revealing the sharp claws at the tips. Whipping their long, feathered tails, they kicked off with both feet and launched into the air!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two Lightning Dragon Birds shot forward first!
Their sharp, long beaks tore through the air. With a flap of their wings, they suddenly accelerated, then tucked them in to reduce drag. Their streamlined bodies turned into arrows, and with a flash of lightning, they instantly dashed right in front of the two men!
"So fast!"
Sanji's pupils shrank in shock. Just as his body was about to be pierced by the beak, he hurriedly bent backward into an inverted U-shape. Supporting himself with his hands on the ground, he dodged the attack and simultaneously kicked upward into the bird's abdomen!
Bang!!
Losing its balance, the Lightning Dragon Bird crashed rapidly into the forest. After tumbling over ten meters across the muddy ground, it struggled to its feet as if nothing had happened.
The hooked claws on its feet dug into the ground. It glared fiercely at Sanji, its legs compressing like springs as it spread its wings, preparing for another aerial launch.
"To think it can take such a beating. They were classified as 'Fatality-level' beasts because they move in packs, but even singling one out is this tough to deal with."
Sanji's gaze turned solemn. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced to the other side, where the Lightning Dragon Birds treading on the water were unfurling their feathered wings one after another, posturing to launch themselves into the air.
Meanwhile, facing the same thrust from a Lightning Dragon Bird, Killer, in his humanoid mantis form, appeared to handle it with ease.
Relying on the terrifying stereoscopic dynamic vision granted by his compound eyes, he almost perfectly captured the opponent's flight trajectory. The instant the Lightning Dragon Bird thrust right in front of him...
"Death Hunt!!"
Killer tapped the ground with his toes, his body sliding to the side to evade the sharp beak. At the same time, his dual mantis scythes instantly unleashed a cross-shaped slash!
Slash!! Slash!!
"Gahhh!!"
The Lightning Dragon Bird looked up at the sky and let out an agonized cry. The serrated mantis scythes easily sliced open its neck, sending a spray of blood flying into the air.
"Speed is your strong suit, but unfortunately, capturing high-speed creatures is mine."
Killer swung his arms to flick off the blood, then turned to look at Sanji, who was caught in a siege. He sank into a half-crouch, just about to exert force and charge in to help.
But right at that moment.
A figure descended from the sky. Its massive wings blotted out the sun, diving down at extreme speed like a brown throwing knife!
Whoosh—Boom!!
Just before hitting the ground, the Quetzalcoatlus flapped its wings fiercely, coming to an abrupt halt beside Sanji. The earth churned, kicking up a ring of dust and smoke that billowed outward.
Subsequently, the Quetzalcoatlus's massive frame slowly shrank, gradually reverting to Allen's appearance.
Sanji looked surprised for a moment before teasing,
"You sure got here fast."
"Hahaha, thanks for the hard work. Leave the rest to me."
Allen smiled. Watching the Lightning Dragon Birds speeding toward them from all directions, he raised his fist, a pitch-black, sharp needle growing out from the back of his hand.
The next second.
Bang!!
Allen's figure instantly vanished from his spot. The ground was stomped into a shallow crater, with dense cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb!
"Shave!!"
Whoosh!
With a flash of his silhouette, he abruptly appeared in front of a Lightning Dragon Bird. His speed was so fast it was impossible to react. The sharp needle in his hand pierced into its abdomen with a *squelch* before being pulled out.
Allen continuously tapped the ground with his feet. With a flash of lightning, he appeared in front of another Lightning Dragon Bird, repeating the process and stabbing the sharp needle into its abdomen.
"Gah—! Gah—!"
A few breaths later, Allen slid back to his original position. Every single one of those dragon birds had been pricked by him. Their bodies collapsed to the ground, letting out cries of agony.
"What did you do to them?"
Sanji couldn't help but ask in confusion.
He had only seen Allen tap each dragon bird once, but he had no idea what kind of technique possessed such immense lethal power.
"The Explosion Ladybug that Gin and the others found earlier. Its body contains a biochemical fluid that reacts violently upon contact with blood, and then..."
Allen explained as he looked at the Lightning Dragon Birds, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly as he said,
"It explodes from the inside."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As soon as his voice fell, the Lightning Dragon Birds lying on the ground suddenly detonated, their bodies instantly engulfed in flames and white, high-temperature gas.
"Alright, we've collected several interesting abilities from the island. We can pack up and get ready to set sail."
Allen retracted the needle tip on the back of his hand and ordered with a satisfied expression.
The harvest this time was quite bountiful. Aside from common ancient creatures like various dinosaurs and giant insects, there were also quite a few peculiar creatures that exceeded Allen's knowledge.
The Explosion Ladybug ability he just used was one of them.
In addition, there was the Phantom Moss Stone Dragon, which could adjust its skin spots and texture to achieve invisibility.
The Ember Dragon, whose specialized internal glands could produce a mixture of flammable gas and viscous liquid, allowing it to spew high-temperature flames or sticky, burning magma balls from its mouth.
The Giant-Veined Spinneret Ant, whose front legs could secrete threads so fine they were nearly invisible to the naked eye, yet possessed extraordinary tensile strength.
There were also creatures with extreme resistance to freezing and high temperatures, and so on. This trip to Demonic Beast Island could be said to be incredibly rewarding.